Reversing Falsehood and Preserving Truth: All Gods and Gods Are in My Hands

On the night the testing ended, dusk had already swallowed Zhongzhou City. In the passageway of the Shouzhen Bureau's underground base, only pale blue light strips cast narrow shadows on the ground.

Lu Yu followed Qin Mu through the quiet corridor, his heels tapping on the strange material of the floor, making a monotonous echo, as if tapping on his tense nerves.

The Enlightenment Room is located at the end of the corridor. The door is carved from a single piece of green jade, and when you push it open, it carries a slightly cool breeze.

The room was sparsely furnished, with only a solitary lamp in the center, its wick flickering and casting long, thin shadows of the two people. Two prayer cushions sat in the corner, creating an atmosphere so solemn that one dared not breathe loudly.

Qin Mu sat cross-legged on the futon first, gesturing for Lu Yu to sit down as well.

He didn't speak immediately, but his fingertips unconsciously traced the dark pattern on his trousers. His gaze fell on the flickering flame of the solitary lamp, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible approval:

"The Divine Realm, to have reached such a level so soon after inheriting the Great Dao, you are the first in the hundred-year history of the Guardian Bureau to achieve this."

Lu Yu clenched the rune in his palm, lowered his eyelashes, and whispered:

"Perhaps it was just good luck, and it just happened to align with the Great Dao."

"Luck?" Qin Mu chuckled lightly, his gaze finally turning to him. His deep eyes were like an ancient well, seemingly able to see through people's hearts.

"According to records, it took your grandmother a full year and a half to stabilize her initial awakening realm after awakening the true Dao before she could begin her attempt to break through to the Condensation Realm. Your meteoric rise to the top is probably not just due to luck; it must be inextricably linked to that ancient coin with its surging energy, right?"

These words pierced Lu Yu's heart like a needle. His heart tightened suddenly, and the image of Nuwa's bewildered gaze in the Hub of Myriad Paths, saying, "I have been trapped here ever since I awoke," flashed through his mind.

The secrets of the myriad paths and Nuwa were his bottom line, something he could not reveal, not even to the Director of the Bureau of Guardianship.

He looked up, his eyes holding just the right amount of bewilderment, his tone sincere yet ambiguous:

"The ancient coin was given to me by my grandmother before she disappeared. It had been silent for a long time, but after the energy out of control at the Shouzhen Bureau, it suddenly merged with my palm and then awakened its abilities. I don't know the specifics."

Qin Mu didn't immediately press for details, but instead tapped the edge of the prayer mat lightly with his fingertips, his voice deepening slightly:

"That ancient coin is extraordinary. If we can figure out its secrets and spread this method of inheritance, the combat power of the Chinese Guardian Bureau can double in a short period of time, and then all the people in the country will have an extra layer of protection."

These words struck a chord with "protecting humanity," and Lu Yu's heart stirred slightly. However, considering the profound structure of the Myriad Dao Hub, he knew that this secret was not something that could be easily replicated, so he could only continue to use "I don't know" and "I don't understand" as excuses.

He recalled the day two years ago when Lu Yu had just been admitted to high school. His grandmother took his hand and handed it to him, saying vaguely, "Keep it safe, so you can rest assured... Xiao Yu is in high school now, Xiao Yu is all grown up, and he will be able to take care of your parents soon." At that time, the calluses on his grandmother's palm brushed against the back of his hand, carrying a familiar warmth.

Qin Mu stopped focusing on the ancient coins and changed the subject, talking about Lu Yu's grandmother:

"Your grandmother was a core high-ranking member of the Guardian Bureau, a true Dao inheritor of the 8-star Unity Realm, and her abilities were extremely effective against ethereal spirits."

He paused, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes: "Twenty years ago, during a Spring Festival, a large-scale ethereal riot broke out in Zhongzhou City. It was your grandmother who burned her own potential to enchant more than three hundred sets of Watchers' equipment, giving them the ethereal-breaking properties of true power, which stabilized the defense line and saved Zhongzhou City, which had a population of millions."

Lu Yu's heart clenched, and his eyes instantly felt hot.

He had never heard these stories about his grandmother. In his memory, his grandmother was an ordinary old woman who would serve him hot porridge when he came home from school, gently rub his knees with herbal ointment after he fell, and secretly give him fruit candies while telling him, "Don't let your mother know."

He recalled a time in fifth grade when he and Zhao Lei trampled through Grandma Li's vegetable patch while trying to raid a bird's nest in an old locust tree. It was Grandma Li who took his hand, brought him some vegetables she had grown herself, and went to apologize. She even squatted in the vegetable patch and helped replant for a long time before going home. On the way, she patted his head and said, "Xiaoyu, you have to protect other people's things and their hard work."

Who would have thought that such a gentle, ordinary old man had once burned his own potential to protect a city of millions?

Even so, the secret of the myriad paths hub still cannot be revealed, not only because it concerns the creator goddess Nuwa, but also because it is the last bond left to him by his grandmother.

"Your grandmother's true intention has always been to 'protect people,' not 'slay the void.'" Qin Mu suddenly exuded an invisible pressure, like a thick layer of clouds pressing down, making Lu Yu's breath catch and his back involuntarily tense.

"I ask you, if one day you were faced with a phantom that has never harmed anyone, and a human being bewitched by a phantom, what would you choose?"

This oppressive aura was a test from a 7-star Breakthrough Realm expert, carrying the weight of the Great Dao's rules. Beads of sweat instantly appeared on Lu Yu's forehead, and the prayer mat on his knees trembled slightly.

In a daze, he heard his grandmother's voice again. That year, when his grandmother released the fish and shrimp that he and Zhao Lei had caught from the canal back into the water, she touched his head and said, "Xiaoyu, everything has a reason to live. Even if it's just fish and shrimp, don't belittle its life."

The setting sun cast a warm glow on Grandma's white hair.

He recalled Old Zhou's resolute act of sacrificing himself to shield the executioners, Su Wan's gentle comforting of the spirits with her psychic powers, and his parents' worry under the lamplight. He gritted his teeth, looked up, and there was no trace of retreat in his eyes:

"I will protect the innocent first. If the spirit has never done evil, I will not kill it; if the humans have only been bewitched, I will try to awaken them instead of annihilating them directly."

"Why?" Qin Mu's oppressive aura intensified, causing the flame of the lone lamp to dwindle.

"The foundation of the true path is 'existence and connection'," Lu Yu's voice trembled slightly, yet remained exceptionally firm.

"Nuwa created humans to give them life, and mended the sky to stabilize order. I inherit this power to protect true bonds, not to use it as a weapon for indiscriminate killing."

As soon as he finished speaking, the oppressive aura surrounding Qin Mu dissipated abruptly, and the air in the room returned to its normal flow. He looked at Lu Yu, the scrutiny in his eyes gradually turning into approval, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The back of his shirt was already soaked with cold sweat, and the runes on his palms had returned to a warm temperature.

Qin Mu took out a silver badge from his pocket. The badge was engraved with the patterns of the Great Dao, and its edges shimmered with a faint golden light. He handed the badge to Lu Yu: "This is a temporary badge from the Guardian Bureau. When you encounter danger, inject a trace of the power of the Great Dao into it, and the Guardian Bureau's sensing system will immediately locate your position and send people to support you."

Lu Yu took the badge; the cool, metallic touch was heavy.

He knew that this badge was both a sign of trust and a constraint, an olive branch extended by the Bureau of Truth and an affirmation of his true self, just like the ancient coin his grandmother had given him years ago, carrying a heavy responsibility of protection.

"You are still young. Focus on completing your studies first. Cultivating the Great Dao can be done slowly and cannot be rushed."

Qin Mu stood up, walked to the door of the Enlightenment Room, glanced back at him, and said, "Remember what you said today: guarding your true self is the true essence of all the Great Daos."

The moment the door closed, the flame of the lone lamp flickered again, illuminating the badge and runes in Lu Yu's palm.

He clutched the badge, and the image of his grandmother sitting under the old locust tree flashed through his mind again. He had just promised her he would never again raid bird nests or trample the vegetable patches. Locust blossoms covered his grandmother's shoulders; she smiled and ruffled his hair, saying, "Xiaoyu is a kind-hearted boy..."

That evening breeze, carrying the fragrance of locust blossoms, warmed the entire twilight of my childhood.